The present invention relates generally to cannula and hub assemblies, and in particular, to an illumination assembly for use therewith, the illumination assembly comprising a light emitting element that emits light that can be directed to a position on a body; wherein in an advantageous way, the location at which the cannula will enter the body (i.e. the entry point) can remain illuminated even after it has been inserted into the entry point. To be sure however, the present invention is also advantageous in other applications where illumination is desirous or necessary, for example for withdrawing fluids from a bottle, as but one example.
Cannula and hub assemblies are well known. During medical procedures, one perceived deficiency in the known assemblies is the inability to illuminate the position on the body (e.g. of a person) at which the cannula will enter (i.e. the entry point). Moreover, after the cannula has been inserted, there are times when it is desirable to maintain illumination on the entry point. For example, the cannula may have “depth” marks so that the practitioner may know how far in the cannula has been inserted; in such an example illumination of such depth marks is important to a successful procedure. During non-medical procedures, often there are instances when illumination is advantageous, such as when trying to extract (or insert) a precision amount of liquid from or to a bottle/container.
One known cannula and hub arrangement with an illumination feature is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,837. However, the illumination feature described therein appears to be less than optimal in procedures where the cannula gets inserted into a bottle, or more likely, into the skin or tissue of the body (e.g. of the patient or person). Specifically, the constructions described in this '837 patent appear to all describe an illumination element (i.e. a small bulb) that emits light which is channeled through the material of the cannula itself. Therefore, it would logically follow that once the cannula is inserted into something, e.g. into the skin or tissue of the body, the emitted light waves can no longer be directed to the point of entry, and thus the lighting condition at the point of cannula insertion is compromised.
It is thus believed that further improvements in illumination during a procedure, such as a medical procedure, are needed. In particular, it would be desirable to provide an illumination assembly that provides for improved and continuous illumination of the location where the cannula has entered, e.g. the skin or tissue of a body, which is especially advantageous during conditions of low lighting, such as during the injection of an epidural, which a practitioner may wish to do under low light conditions to make the ambiance as comforting to the patient as possible.